Sheil Kapadia

Philly.com

It's all about the quarterback here ... but could that quarterback be Jon Kitna? Since Jason Garrett took over, Jon Kitna's a 68-percent passer, with seven touchdowns and two interceptions. Even with Dez Bryant, I think Kitna makes this a good game, not a Michael Vick-led walkover.

The Cowboys defense has generated 11 takeaways in the past four games, after getting just 10 in the first eight games under Wade Phillips. That includes four takeaways on Sunday against the Colts, two of which were interceptions returned for touchdowns. Opportunistic, high-flying and full of optimism, the suddenly rejuvenated, Jason Garrett-led Cowboys are enjoyable to watch. At 3-1 since the guy took over, it’d be easy to take the Cowboys at home on Sunday. Eh, I like Vick — 6-1 in games he’s started and finished this year — with the Sunday night spotlight and first place in the NFC East on the line.

Feels like Dez Bryant's injury should have swung this line a little more, no?

Unrelated: I keep getting conspiracy e-mails like this one (from Kent in Seattle): "Is there any way the NFL allows Vick to be the starting QB in the Super Bowl? The PETA protests. The pro-puppy media. The unspoken gambling hypocrisy. Some company will likely change its Super Bowl ad to include puppies or blast Vick. Basically, America will spend two weeks hating the NFL. Against that possible backdrop, how many penalties will the Eagles be flagged with during their playoff game(s)? Isn't the best postseason bet going to be whatever team the Eagles are playing?"

This is one of those be-careful games for the Eagles. The Cowboys aren't playing for anything, but these teams have lots of history. The Eagles are first in total offense and the Cowboys are 23rd. That means Mike Vick will score some points. But I think the Cowboys will score their share as well. It's close.

Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk has the Cowboys pulling off the 27-24 upset:

The Cowboys are playing like they should have been playing all year, and they seem to take delight in throwing a wrench into the playoff fortunes of their foes. What better team to mess with than the Eagles, whose high hopes were dashed by Dallas in back-to-back weekends last year? Sure, the Eagles have a different (and better) quarterback this year, but he ‘Boys know a thing or two about taking the best that Mike Vick has to offer and still beating him. Look for the same thing to happen on Sunday night.

PFT's Gregg Rosenthal likes the Eagles:

If not for the Cowboys, Donovan McNabb might still be Philadelphia’s quarterback. The real issue Dallas exposed last year was Philly’s offensive line, which can still occasionally look shaky. Dallas no longer has the pass rush to make a difference, though, and Michael Vick is a massive upgrade from McNabb. This is the type of cutting edge analysis you can only get at PFT.